


The "Blind" Date

by RhysMerilot



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Blind Date, F/F, Fluff and Smut, Henry sets up his moms on a date, Light Angst, Post-Canon, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-11
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2020-10-05 07:07:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 20,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20484860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RhysMerilot/pseuds/RhysMerilot
Summary: Emma and Regina are in the midst of an affair and in denial about what's really going on until Henry sets them up on a “blind” date





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Afternoon Delight [Art for The “Blind” Date]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20447558) by [KennedyMorgan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KennedyMorgan/pseuds/KennedyMorgan). 

> Here is my submission for SwanQueen Supernova IV: To Infinity and Beyond
> 
> I wanted something cute and light (mostly lol) with some smut, and this is what came out.
> 
> Go give some love to my artist for creating such an awesome cover! I'm in love with it!! Thank you, Kennedy!
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> If you like what you read here and have never read any of my stuff before, please give some of my other stories a chance (and some love!) I write a lot of long, angst-filled stories, so there is plenty to choose from.
> 
> Feel free to follow me on twitter, too. I like making new twitter friends! @RhysMerilot

Sometimes the greatest love stories ever told don’t start out with a happy beginning. Sometimes those stories begin without warning, without a prelude. By chance.

Or fate, if that’s what you believe in.

Sometimes that great love everyone seemingly seems to be searching for is found easily and it just happens, everything slotting into place to be as it was meant to be.

But sometimes it’s right in front of you and you don’t see it nor understand it. Not until fate intervenes and something happens. A kiss perhaps, maybe even a declaration of love in the middle of a fight that threatened their very unpredictable relationship.

The greatest love story ever told didn’t start at their beginning. Not really.

There were years of instability between them, far too many ups and downs, back and forth, more times often than not where they were teetering on the grounds of being enemies and not friends. Co-parents. There were other people, relationships that were as rocky as the relationship they shared, relationships that fell apart or ended tragically.

Somehow, through all the heartbreak, divorce, and loss, they came together and found something with one another they’d been searching for, blind to see it had been there all along. Right from the start.

But because they’re both stubborn idiots, their love story didn’t start until about thirteen years after they’d first met…and six months after they started sleeping together.

[X]

Her hands were smooth. Warm. They lingered in all the right places. Strong, lean fingers mapped out a trail of freckles along pale skin. Lips fell onto heated, sensitive flesh, kissing away the goosebumps those fingers left in their wake.

Her hands were gentle. Safe. They didn’t hurry. They didn’t push, poke, or prod like most others had in the past. Every touch was a caress. There was weight behind them, words that were left unsaid, but heard nonetheless.

A single stream of sunlight poked its way through the slit in the heavy drapes the covered the windows, casting an orange glow into the room, _their _room, there in the inn. In that room, they were lost in their own little world where everything outside of it ceased to exist. In that room, they found something with one another, something that like the rest of the world, ceased to exist outside of it.

Emma Swan sighed contently as those hands continued to caress the skin along her back, fingers trailing lightly along her spine, teasing unhurriedly. She lifted her head from the pillow, turning to look back at her lover next to her, wanting nothing more than to bask in the moment they were sharing before reality reared its ugly head and pulled them out.

Her eyes slid shut as those full lips, warm and wet, continued to kiss along her skin, and those fingers teasingly danced along her spine, descending lower until they stopped where the thin sheet covered Emma’s lower half. She focused solely on the lips that ascended up her spine unhurriedly and sighed out as those very lips pressed a little harder against her skin just below her right shoulder blade.

“Regina.”

The name slipped past her lips with ease, low and throaty, needy almost. Pleading. Time was running out and Emma wasn’t ready for their afternoon affair to end just yet. If she had it her way, they’d spend more than one afternoon a week locked away in their room at the inn. But they couldn’t.

“Regina,” she whispered as she started to turn onto her side. The move caused Regina to sigh in disbelief and move away from her body reluctantly. A quick glance at the clock had Emma sliding into a bit of a panic. It was after four already. “Regina--”

“Not yet,” Regina murmured, a frown slipping over her kiss-swollen lips as she settled on the bed beside Emma. “No.”

“I--I have to go,” Emma said, disappointment clear in her voice as she struggled to get the words out. Regina sighed as she stroked her fingers along Emma’s arm languidly. It was enough of a distraction that Emma momentarily forgot she _had _to leave. “Regina, please. You know that I can’t stay. I--”

“Can’t or won’t?”

“Can’t.”

“Is there anything I can do to persuade you to stay? Just for a little while longer?”

Regina’s fingers trailed down her spine once again, drawing out a shiver that coursed its way through Emma’s body deliciously so. God, Emma just couldn’t get enough of her. The more time that they spent together like this, the harder it was becoming to return back to their lives and away from each other like nothing had happened between them at all.

Because nobody knew they’d been meeting like this, sharing intimate moments alone, _fucking_, for the last six months.

Not that either of them was actually keeping track of how long it’d been since the first time, not really. Things had become what they were between one another and they never talked about it. Emma was in denial about a lot of things, and her feelings for Regina, for what they had, whatever it was, were something she wasn’t quite ready to deal with yet.

Emma had no idea how intense things could get with Regina and had she known, well, her life would’ve gone far differently than it had been going up until that point, that’s for sure.

Regina had gone from being her best friend to her lover and it all started with that first kiss. That night had changed everything between them. It had sparked the affair they’d started, a one-time thing turned into…whatever it was now. Were they just friends who fucked, friends with benefits? Or was it something else?

It was the ‘something else’ that had Emma hiding in the shadows of her own doubts and insecurities, riding the denial train because it was _easier_. Keeping things a secret made it easier for them to hide away from the rest of the world for an afternoon once a week.

It had been twice this week. Not that Emma was keeping track of that either. This time had been much different than before. Every touch, every kiss, it lingered longer than the last few. There had been a few moments where Emma had sworn she’d seen Regina on the verge of tears--happy, sated tears. If she was holding back, it was clear Regina was doing the very same thing.

But Emma was careful in her assumptions, knowing that neither of them was ready to put actual meaning to what was going between them. She was afraid of a lot of things and one of those reasons why she didn’t say anything was out of fear she’d push Regina away. That they’d lose what they had now.

Whatever it was.

Emma moaned as Regina smoothed her left hand down her side, fingers stroking over her skin teasingly as they reached the sheet still draped over her lower half. Emma allowed herself a moment to let her eyes roam over Regina’s very naked body, drinking in every dip and curve. A surge of arousal tremored through Emma’s body as she looked up into Regina’s eyes.

A soft beep sounded from Regina’s phone just behind Emma on the bedside table. It was the fourth one in the last handful of minutes and the first that caught Regina’s attention. Emma frowned as Regina ignored it, turning her attention to the hand beneath the sheet. Her kiss-swollen lips curled into a salacious smile as she firmly gripped onto Emma’s ass and pulled her in closer to her.

“Are you sure that there is nothing I can do to persuade you to stay?”

“Aren’t you going to see who just text you? What if it’s important?”

Regina rolled her eyes and stilled her hand. “It’s not,” she said and tapped her fingers lightly. “If it were an emergency, they would call.”

“I guess you’re right,” Emma said with a shrug. She languidly stretched out on the bed, acutely aware that Regina’s eyes were on her, drinking her in. Regina’s intentions were very clear and it caused her to groan in frustration. “I really have to go, Regina,” she said apologetically. “I’m already late and I promised Henry I’d be by before now to pick Hope up.”

“Is it after four already?” Regina asked and curiously raised an eyebrow before taking a quick glance at the clock. “Well, we certainly managed to make the most out of this afternoon, haven’t we?”

“Oh yeah,” Emma chuckled. She leaned into Regina and pulled her in close. “Hey, Regina?”

“Hmm?”

“When can I see you again?”

“We’ll see each other tomorrow for dinner at--”

“That’s not what I meant,” Emma said softly. “When can I, you know, see you again? Like this?”

“Naked, you mean?” Regina tutted. She laughed low as she leaned in close to Emma, neither of them making a move to get going just yet. “It’s been twice this week.”

“Yeah, it has,” Emma grinned and she was about to kiss her when Regina stopped her suddenly with a single finger upon her lips. “I know. I have to go, but I don’t want to. Seriously, Regina, when am I going to be able to see you again?”

“Like this?”

“Yes.”

“Naked?”

“Preferably.”

Regina laughed and gently gripped onto Emma’s chin. “You have a one-track mind, don’t you?” she asked. Emma responded with a grin and a wiggle of her eyebrows. Emma’s hand smoothed over Regina’s hip as she pulled her in just a little closer. “Emma. We will see each other next week,” she said with a small shake of her head. “I’ll be back in town on Tuesday to see you.”

Five days from now. Emma groaned, but she didn’t push. She’d already started to push just asking when they’d be together next and Regina had already begun to pull away.

“Tuesday,” Emma echoed, unable to keep her disappointment from showing. She frowned deeply and sighed when Regina promptly tried to kiss that frown away. “Is there any way that I can see you before then?”

She was still pushing, but she needed to know. Regina swallowed thickly before dropping her hand on the small space between them on the bed. It was a definite ‘no’.

“I will see you tomorrow,” Regina said slowly. Carefully. “Perhaps we can talk then?”

“Is that a good idea?” Emma asked, and as soon as the words left her mouth, she winced. “I mean,” she said in a rush as Regina started to move away from her, “it’s just that everyone will be there and, well, we haven’t exactly _told _anyone that we’re…seeing each other. Like this. You know what I mean. You do know what I mean, right?”

“Yes,” Regina laughed. “I do know what you mean.” She slipped off the bed, and after a small pause, she turned to Emma with a slight frown. “Is that all this is? Is this the way it will always be between us, Emma?”

“Like what?” Emma slipped off the bed and found it far too easy to slip back into that place with Regina. Her hands slipped over Regina’s bare hips and she smiled as she pulled Regina in and wrapped her arms around her. “What, do you think you’re like my secret or something?”

“Isn’t that exactly what I am?”

“Do you like the idea of being my _dirty _little secret?” Emma asked teasingly, laughing when Regina scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Regina, come on, you know that’s not all that you are to me,” she said softly.

“Then what am I exactly?”

Emma placed her forehead against Regina’s and sighed. They’d had this conversation once before and it hadn’t ended well.

“I think you know,” Emma said as she lifted a hand to tuck a few strands of Regina’s sun-kissed brown hair behind her left ear. “I think you know exactly what you are to me.”

“I want to hear you say it.”

_I love you. I’m in love with you. I’m just too fucking scared to tell you._

“I--I don’t know if I’m--if we’re ready to call this anything yet,” Emma stammered nervously. She stared into Regina’s brown eyes, watching as a host of emotions fluttered through them before a wall slammed up. “All I know, Regina,” she continued before Regina could walk away from her, “is that I don’t want to stop doing this. I don’t want to stop seeing you like this.”

“Naked, you mean?” Regina repeated flatly, her façade faltering as she started to laugh throatily. Emma started to laugh too and placed a hand upon her cheek. Regina reached for that hand a second later and turned to place a soft kiss to Emma’s palm, her lips lingering before they curled into a soft smile, one Emma very rarely saw. “I think I understand exactly what you mean, Emma.”

“You do?”

“I don’t want to stop seeing you like this either,” Regina said. “Naked or otherwise.”

“Or otherwise?” Emma felt confused at the turn in the conversation. Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked at Regina questionably. “You mean you want to keep doing this and…what exactly? Just spend time together? Not naked time together?”

“Which would be called exactly what we’ve had for many years now, dear, a friendship,” she chuckled. “Yes. I do quite enjoy the time that we spend together, Emma, regardless of how it is spent. I know things haven’t been easy, but you’re still my best friend.”

“I am?”

“Is there a reason that made you think that has changed?”

Emma gulped and slowly shook her head no. In reality, everything had changed even if they were both in denial over it still. But that was not a conversation to have, not now, not anytime in the near future.

“I am going to have a quick shower,” Regina said, a hint of disappointment in her voice and over what, Emma didn’t quite know. “You can join me if you’d like, Em-_ma_, but we do have to be quick. You’re already late enough as it is, hmm?”

“I don’t think that is a good idea.”

“It’s a wonderful idea,” Regina purred as she reached for Emma’s hands and began to pull her into the bathroom. “You can’t leave looking like this, Emma Swan.”

“Like what?”

“Like you’ve just spent the entire afternoon being thoroughly fucked.”

Emma moaned at the way the words salaciously rolled off of Regina’s tongue. Oh, Regina was _good_. How could Emma just leave now when Regina knew exactly what to say to get her to stay?

Regina licked over her lips slowly, her intentions clearer than ever, and Emma followed her into the small bathroom willingly, her libido kicking into overdrive at the prospect of what was to come next. She let go of Regina reluctantly and all she could do for a moment was watch as she reached to pull back the shower curtain and turned the water on.

Sharing a shower together was new. They’d never done that before, the opportunity never presenting itself, really. Normally, Regina would use her magic to re-dress herself and freshen up while Emma showered when their time together was up, using that ten minutes to try and clear her head. It was always that way and Regina was always gone by the time Emma had gotten out. It really was different this time, and if Emma’s brain wasn’t short-circuiting the way it was, she knew she’d be able to figure out _why_.

Regina beckoned her into the shower as she stepped in and Emma watched as the warm water cascaded over Regina’s nude body before she snapped out of it and hurriedly stepped in behind her.

They were almost immediately kissing, their hands grasping and slipping over wet skin as the water fell down over them. It was desperate and needy, much like how things always started between them when they would first arrive in their room there in the inn.

Emma gasped as she was pushed up roughly against the wall, the cold tiles a stark contrast to her heated skin. Regina pulled back from her lips with a salacious smile as a hand slipped between Emma’s legs, her intentions more than evident now just how she was planning to spend their first shower together.

“Regina.”

“Shh,” she whispered. “I am not quite done with you yet, darling.”

Emma trembled at the endearment, that too a first. It just _did _things to her, things she couldn’t quite explain or understand.

“Regina,” she moaned as Regina deftly slipped her fingers over her throbbing clit. She grasped to grab onto the wall behind her, but the tiles were smooth and wet, and all she did was slide down a little as her legs fell open a little wider. Her hands went to Regina’s shoulders and her short nails dug into her skin as she gripped on tight. “Fuck, Regina.”

Regina suddenly turned Emma around so she was facing the wall and her hand slipped back between Emma’s legs with ease, cupping her cunt almost possessively as she pressed her body against Emma’s back. Emma could feel Regina’s hard nipples against her back and the soft tuff of pubic hair brushing against her ass. At the feel of Regina’s lips suddenly on the back of her neck, her body trembled, and her knees nearly gave out completely.

“I can’t wait to fuck you with a strap-on,” Regina said huskily as she trailed her lips over Emma’s neck. She lightly traced the tip of her tongue over the shell of Emma’s ear, eliciting a deep, needy moan that rocked Emma to her core.

“You--oh!” Emma gasped out in surprise as her brain caught up to her, a feat in itself considering Regina had two fingers knuckle deep inside of her. “You want to--”

“Oh yes, very much.”

“Fuck.”

Regina’s teeth sunk into the soft spot where her neck met her shoulder and it pushed Emma over the edge in that very moment. Her pussy clenched tight against Regina’s fingers that had stilled inside of her. Regina was thrusting her hips and grinding her mound against Emma’s ass, her mouth fixed over the spot she’d bit, licking and sucking at her skin as Emma’s orgasm continued to ripple through her body.

A soft groan escaped past Emma’s lips as she leaned forward to press her forehead against the cold, wet tiles. Her body was quaking in the aftermath of her quick and short orgasm, but it had been intense enough that it rendered her speechless.

Well, it was because of that and the fact that Regina mentioned fucking her with a strap-on. It did nothing but spark a whole host of new fantasies in her head. What made it that much more exciting was knowing that fantasy would definitely be coming to life the next time they were together.

Shakily, Emma reached for the hand still between her legs and pulled it free before turning around to face her lover. Regina just laughed and lifted that hand to her lips, licking her fingers before she stepped under the spray of water.

“Could you please pass the shampoo?” Regina asked, her tone soft and…normal. Like this whole thing was normal and not turning into something that felt entirely domestic almost. “Emma? The shampoo?”

“Oh,” she sighed as she turned to look down on the edge of the tub where the small bottle of shampoo sat. She picked it up, nearly dropping it as she thrust it out towards Regina with a nervous smile. “Here.”

Regina’s smile was infectious as she held out a palm and waited until Emma popped the top open on the bottle and poured a little too much shampoo out for her. She stood there, mouth agape, watching Regina as she lifted her hands to her hair and scrubbed the shampoo in slowly. When a laugh escaped past Regina’s lips, Emma blinked a few times before pouring an obscene amount of shampoo into her own hand and followed suit.

Emma was entirely distracted for the rest of the rather quick shower they shared. All she could do mostly was watch Regina as she lathered up the soap on her body, her hands smoothing over every dip and curve teasingly, her eyes boring into Emma’s, watching Emma watch her. It felt far more intimate than anything else and Emma just could not seem to get enough. She could watch Regina all day, especially if she was naked.

“Finish up,” Regina whispered, pulling Emma out of her thoughts but not quick enough as Emma was left standing alone as the water started to run a little cold. “Emma, hurry up and finish, dear,” she said as she grabbed the only towel that was in the bathroom off the rack and wrapped it around her body quickly. “I’ll see you later.”

“Regina wait--damn it,” Emma gasped as she lunged forward to turn the hot water handle to the left. “Fucking hell. You are going to be the death of me, woman.”

The sound of Regina’s laughter as she walked out into the room sounded like music to Emma’s ears and she couldn’t help but smile. Regina could kill her, figuratively speaking, and she would enjoy every last second of it. She knew that without a single doubt in her mind.

She also knew, minutes later after she heard the room door open and close, that she wouldn’t be able to go much longer without telling Regina how she really felt about her. With actual words. The need to know what they were doing, what it truly meant, it was hitting her harder than it had the last time those very thoughts crept into her mind.

Ten minutes later, Emma managed to shower properly but not without those very thoughts of Regina using a strap-on on her next time they were together there to distract her. It wasn’t until she heard her phone ringing that made her kick into overdrive, dashing out of the shower, dripping wet as she ran out of the bathroom and snatched the towel that hung on the back of the desk chair where Regina had left it for her.

She found her phone where she’d left it, in her red leather jacket pocket, and she pulled it out quickly to see Henry’s name on the screen before it went to her voicemail. She furrowed her brow as she clicked on the phone icon to see that she had _ten _missed calls from Henry in the last hour. She dried off as quickly as she could and dressed before she called Henry back, her mind already conjuring up several different lies, excuses, as to why she was late.

As much as she hated lying to her own son, she also wasn’t ready to tell him that she was sleeping with his other mother yet, either. But how long would that last before he eventually figured it out or found out what they’d been doing all these months?

How long would it last as something that was only between them? If anyone found out, would it complicate things? Would it make Regina run? Would it make Emma want to run, too?

Emma really didn’t know. She could feel a headache coming on as those thoughts, along with hundreds of others, swirled violently inside her head. She hated this, hated not knowing, hated being on the fringes of denial, hated that she was fighting with her own feelings she had for Regina that she knew deep down were real and that they weren’t going to just go away anytime soon.

[X]

“I think you should go on a date, Mom,” Henry said as Regina sat in the kitchen with him, Ella, while Lucy and Hope played in the living room. Regina raised an eyebrow as she traced a finger along the edge of her teacup. “Okay, hear me out before you say no,” he said quickly. “I think it’d be a great thing for you to just, you know, get out there and date.”

“You want me to go out on a date?” Regina asked, amused. “With whom exactly?”

“I don’t know--”

“Henry wants to set you up on a blind date, Regina,” Ella said casually and then laughed when Henry just glared at her, clearly annoyed. “He thinks that is the only way you’ll agree.”

“A _blind _date?” Regina asked questionably. “Does that mean I won’t know who it is until I meet them for this date?”

“Yeah, that’s exactly what it means. I told Henry that isn’t such a great idea,” Ella replied with a shake of her head. “But, we both actually think it is a good idea for you to just put yourself out there and…date.”

“I told you she’d say no,” Henry muttered as he slumped in his chair and crossed his arms defiantly over his chest. “Mom doesn’t date. She’s too busy to--”

“I never said no, dear,” Regina said as she reached out to pat Henry’s shoulder with a loving smile. “Say I’m entertaining the idea,” she said thoughtfully. “Will you tell me who this person is you’re setting me up on a blind date with?”

“No,” Henry said and grinned as he sat up in the chair excitedly. “You will? You agree? You’ll go on this blind date?”

“I never agreed either, Henry, but--”

“Oh, come on, Mom,” Henry groaned. “It’s been a long time since you’ve been with anyone. You deserve a chance at happiness, too!”

_I am very happy, actually. With Emma._

“And you think that a man will be the source of my happiness?” Regina asked, hiding her smile behind her teacup before she took a small sip. “Henry, we’ve talked about this. You know that I--”

“Have no preference, I know,” he said with an awkward roll of his eyes. He winced when his wife hit him a little hard in the shoulder. “That’s why…it’s not with a man, but that is all I am telling you!”

“Until I agree and then you’ll tell me who it is?”

“Yes. No!” Henry groaned and rubbed at the spot on his shoulder with a pout. “Do you trust me, Mom?”

“Of course I do, Henry, but--”

“So, you’ll trust me when I tell you that this blind date I’ve set up is actually perfect for you?”

“It really is a good match,” Ella said with a nod of agreement. “I’m actually surprised you two haven’t gotten together yet, actually.”

That made Regina raise an eyebrow in concern. Who, exactly, is her son and his wife setting her up on a blind date with? Clearly, they were both excited about the prospect and their pick for her, but could it be who she was thinking of? Was it Emma? No, there was no way it could be Emma. Henry wouldn’t do that, would he?

Sure, she’d been casually seeing Emma in secret for months now, and they’d been having a hot and heavy affair that nobody knew of--as far as she knew, anyway. But things with Emma were complicated at best.

Complicated because she was convinced that Emma was in complete denial about what it was they had together. Regina was certain when it came to her feelings, especially those feelings that centered around her best friend and lover. She was just afraid to voice those to Emma out of fear that it would put an abrupt end to their affair.

“So?” Henry drawled out pointedly. “Will you agree?”

“To your blind date idea?” Regina asked carefully, trying to hide her disappointment as best as she could. “Yes,” she said after thinking about it for a moment, figuring she honestly had nothing to lose by going on a blind date her son and his wife set her up on. “When will this date take place, dear? You know that I only have this week before I have to return home and assume my duties in the kingdom.”

“I know, that’s why I was thinking of maybe setting the date up for Friday night?” Henry suggested, his smile infectious as he waited for her to answer. When Regina finally nodded reluctantly, he lifted a hand to high-five his wife. “Perfect! I’ll get it all set up. You don’t have to do anything other than, you know, show up on time.”

“All right,” she sighed. “Just let me know when it is all set up and I’ll be there.”

“I’ll let you know by tomorrow,” Henry laughed excitedly. “This is great, isn’t it?” he said to his wife as she just smiled warmly at him. “I didn’t actually think you’d agree at all, Mom. I know you’re busy with your life in the Enchanted Forest and being a queen and all, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take some time to find some love in your life.”

“Would you like another cup of tea, Regina?” Ella asked, thankfully bringing a much-needed change to the conversation.

“That would be lovely, thank you, dear.”

The three of them all looked to the door when they heard Hope screaming in delight rather loudly out of nowhere. Regina’s heart started racing a little quicker when she heard Emma a few seconds later, her laughter ringing throughout the house.

“Hey, Hen, sorry I’m…late,” Emma said as she bounced into the kitchen holding her daughter in her arms. “Regina. Hi. What are you doing here?”

“We’re having a cup of tea and catching up,” Regina said lightly, unable to stop from smiling over at Emma the same way she’d smile at her when they were alone. “I hear you were supposed to be here an hour ago. Got a little caught up, did you, dear?”

“Yeah, I was a bit busy and just lost track of time,” Emma said with a nonchalant shrug. “I’m really sorry, Henry. I didn’t hear my phone--”

“Yeah, you said that already when you called a little while ago, Ma. It’s cool. Everything is fine. Lucy kept Hope entertained for most of the afternoon,” he said and smiled proudly at his twelve-year-old daughter as she joined everyone in the kitchen. “I think she’s just about ready to babysit without any parental units around, huh? What do you think, Luce?”

“Dad, I _told _you I was ready like two months ago! I got my first aid certificate and everything,” she groaned. “When can I babysit Hope all by myself?”

All of the adults in the room just looked at one another, doubt and confusion marring their faces as nobody knew exactly what to tell Lucy. Regina knew that Henry and Ella were slowly learning they could trust their daughter, especially to babysit alone, but they had their qualms, their concerns, all legit.

“I’m almost thirteen,” Lucy said, pouting as she crossed her arms over her chest. “All of my friends are allowed to babysit, like actually babysit without parents checking in and--”

“How about Friday night?” Emma chimed in. “Just for a couple of hours, maybe less?” She shrugged as she looked over at Henry. “I was going to ask you and Ella, but maybe this is the perfect opportunity for Lucy to prove to us she can watch Hope alone.”

“What are you doing on Friday night?” Lucy asked, suddenly hopping in excitement. “Oh! You’re going on a date, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, I am, actually,” Emma replied with a nonchalant shrug that made Regina’s eyes nearly bulge out of her head. “Well, not really a _date_,” she said as she looked over at Regina and there was an odd look in her eyes, one Regina couldn’t read. “It’s just dinner with a friend.”

“That sounds like a date to me,” Lucy laughed. “Who is it?”

“Just a friend, like I said,” Emma chuckled lightly. “So, how about it, Luce? You want to watch Hope for me while I go out on Friday night for a few hours?”

“Can I?” Lucy asked her parents with a hopeful smile. “Please?”

“I don’t know, kiddo, we’ll think about it, okay?” Henry said with a heavy sigh. “Ma, don’t worry about Hope. Either way, someone will watch her on Friday night while you go out on your date.”

“It’s not really a date,” Emma corrected him and she cast a quick glance at Regina who swore she saw a hint of worry in Emma’s eyes. “It’s just dinner with a friend.”

Regina had a feeling there was more to it than that, but she didn’t question it. How could she without her jealousy rearing its ugly head and thus revealing her and Emma’s secret relationship in the process?

What did she and Emma have, anyway? It wasn’t as if they’d actually talked about it. When they were together, they didn’t talk. They were always otherwise preoccupied and holding a conversation, one with weight behind it, was certainly always out of the question. Regina had summed it up to just an affair of sorts because really, that is exactly what it was.

Yet, she wanted more. She craved more. Needed more. She just knew that Emma was nowhere close to being ready for that next step and she feared that there was a very big possibility that she may never be.

For Regina, she had already made her peace with that--for the most part. She enjoyed what they had discovered together after many years of friendship and she wasn’t ready for any of it to end. Emma was a solid match for her in the bedroom and never pushed her beyond boundaries she wasn’t ready to cross. It just worked, flawlessly almost, and though Regina felt the weight behind the words that went left unsaid, she never pushed Emma either.

If Emma didn’t harbour similar feelings, she wouldn’t keep coming back, would she? It was hard for Regina to figure Emma out because she, much like herself, hid behind walls that very rarely ever broke down to let anyone in past them.

“So, do you think it’s a good idea, Mom?” Henry asked. He placed a hand gently on Regina’s shoulder, pulling her from her thoughts. “Mom?”

“Yes, dear? Is what a good idea?”

“Giving Lucy a chance to babysit Hope,” he said as if it were obvious Regina should know that was what he was talking about. “You don’t think she’s too young, do you?”

“Absolutely not. Besides, Hope idolizes her. She behaves for her. I don’t see that there would be any issues. As Emma said,” she paused as she looked over at Emma with a small smile, “it is only for a few hours while she has dinner with a friend, after all.”

“Right,” Emma nodded quickly in agreement. “What Regina said.”

“Is that a yes?” Lucy asked hopefully. “Yes? I am going to babysit Hope all by myself?”

“Yeah, kiddo,” Emma laughed as Lucy launched herself at Emma and hugged her tight. “But,” Emma continued after a moment and it made Lucy step back with a frown sliding into place. “I think it’s a good idea if you had a cell phone regardless.”

“Dad won’t let me get one yet.”

“I think your dad is going to have to reconsider that especially if you’re going to be babysitting now, huh?” Emma chuckled. Regina and Henry both rolled their eyes as Ella held up both hands and backed away, not wanting to put herself in the middle of _that _conversation. “I’ll even let you use my old phone.”

“What’s wrong with it?” Lucy asked skeptically, her face contouring in a way that reminded Regina far too much of Henry when he was her age.

Emma laughed. “Nothing! I got a free upgrade like a month ago and--”

“I’ll help pay for it,” Regina interjected. “Granted that Lucy agrees to pay what she can with whatever babysitting jobs she has throughout the month. I think it’s essential that she has one and not just because she’s going to be babysitting.”

“Fine,” Henry sighed. “But there are going to be rules, Luce.”

“I know, Dad,” she said with a bit of a whine in her voice. “So, can we get it today?”

“Tomorrow.”

“But--”

“Tomorrow, Lucy. Later, we will have a discussion on the rules and expectations, okay?” Henry sighed and pinched at the bridge of his nose. “I’m going to regret this, aren’t I?”

“Nope,” Emma and Lucy chimed together as they both hugged him.

Emma left with Hope shortly after and Regina stayed in the kitchen with Henry while Ella and Lucy went off to clean up the mess that had been left in the living room. Regina made herself another cup of tea as Henry paced the kitchen floor, lost in thought.

She too was lost in thought, her thoughts centered over the very fact that Emma had a date that wasn’t exactly a date on Friday night as well. She could feel her jealousy spiking and she chastised herself because she felt as if she had no right to be jealous. They weren’t exclusive. They were just fucking. Weren’t they? And besides, she had agreed to Henry’s blind date idea, so it wasn’t as if Emma was the only one exploring other options.

“Henry, can I ask you something?” Regina said lightly. “Whatever made you come up with the idea of this blind date?”

“Ma suggested it actually.”

“Did she?”

“Yes.”

Regina couldn’t hide her deer in the headlights look as Henry stopped pacing and stared at her for a moment. He started to laugh and placed a hand on her shoulder reassuringly.

“Don’t worry, Ma, it’s not going to be a disaster.”

“How do you know that? How do _I _know that? You won’t even tell me who it is!”

“Hence it being a _blind _date. You won’t know until you show up. Isn’t it exciting?”

“Yes,” she said with a small pause. She tried to muster up the excitement that Henry clearly was feeling over the whole idea and managed a forced smile. “I suppose it is.”

[X]

(_Sometime last week…_)

“I have a _great _idea!” Henry declared to his wife as he walked in the side door and found her in the kitchen baking cupcakes with Lucy watching from where she sat at the island counter. “Well, don’t you want to hear what my great idea is?”

“You always have great ideas, honey,” Ella smiled. “But some of them don’t actually turn out to be a great idea in the end.”

“But--”

“What is your great idea, Dad?”

“I want to set my moms up on a date.”

“With who?” Ella asked.

“With each other.”

Ella nearly dropped the pan of cupcakes in the oven and turned to him with wide eyes. “You want to set them up on a date? With each other? Did I hear that right?” she asked and started to laugh in disbelief. “Henry, your moms are _friends_. I don’t think it’s such a great idea to try and set them up romantically. We have no idea if they actually--”

“Exactly, we have no idea,” Henry interjected. “But I have a feeling there are, you know, actual feelings involved, and all they need is a little…push, you know?”

“This has disaster written all over it,” Ella muttered as she closed the oven door and wiped her hands on the front of her pastel blue apron. “Honey, I know you’d love for nothing more than to see both of them happy, but what if--”

“Ma mentioned that she’s been ready to start dating. It’s been six months since her divorce and…she’s kind of lonely, I think.”

“And Regina?”

Henry frowned. His mother never actually expressed any interest in dating or finding someone to be with, to build a life with, to be happy with, and if she had, she certainly had never mentioned it to him. He shook his head no slowly and his wife sighed as she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“What makes you think there is something between them, anyway?” Ella asked and Henry groaned and rolled his eyes in disbelief. “Right,” she laughed. “The flirting we’ve all noticed that they likely think we’re all oblivious to. But what if that’s all it is? Harmless flirting amongst friends?”

“Do you flirt with your friends?”

“Well, no, but--”

“You haven’t seen it like I have. There’s always been _something _between them, they’re just too blind to figure it out.”

“Hence your blind date idea, hmm?”

“Yeah,” he laughed lightly. “It’s a great idea. Come on, Ella, you have to agree. It’s a brilliant idea. This could be the start of something amazing between them.”

“What if it ends in absolute disaster?”

“Well, you see, I thought about that and I know Ma. She’ll turn it into just having dinner with a friend. It’d be good for them to spend some time together either way.”

“And how do you think Regina will feel about this when she realizes her blind date is none other than Emma herself?”

“I honestly don’t know, but I think if I talked to her about it and convinced her it’s a great idea to give the whole blind date thing a chance, she’ll agree to go through with it. She’ll be here for a week. It’s not like she has anything better to do than to hang out with us.”

“Hey!” Lucy said with a pout. “I love spending time with Gigi! She loves spending time with me!”

“I never said either of you didn’t but--”

“She deserves a chance to find love and to have her happy ending, I know,” Lucy said as she pulled a face. “I agree with you, Dad, it’s a great idea. You’d have to be blind not to see that there is _something _there between them.”

“Lucy!” Ella exclaimed.

“Mom!” Lucy mocked. “I’m serious! It’s not just the flirting.”

“Then what is it?” Ella asked curiously. She was met with two glares from her husband and daughter. “Honey,” she said as she gently stroked Henry’s neck with her fingers. “If it was that obvious that they have something between them, don’t you think they would’ve figured this out for themselves by now?”

“Are you kidding me? They’re both stubborn!” Henry laughed. “They both kind of need a little push. Trust me, it’ll work, and if I’m wrong, then I’m wrong, but I know deep down in my heart that I’m not wrong about this or about them.”

“Okay, I know you well enough to know there is no talking you out of this,” Ella said after a moment. “But tell me this, Henry, how are you going to bring this up to them? What if they ask for more details or refuse to agree until you tell them who it is?”

“I don’t know, I haven’t figured it out that far yet. I’ll just…wing it and hope for the best?”

“And again, what if this ends in disaster?”

“What if it doesn’t?” Henry countered. “What if this is exactly what they need?”

“I hope you’re not wrong about this, Henry.”

“I hope not either.”

“What are you guys talking about?” Emma asked as she walked into the kitchen with Hope hurrying after her. “Hey,” she smiled at the three of them. “So, what are you guys talking about?”

“Well,” Henry said as he stepped out of his wife’s embrace. “We were just talking about how it’d be a good idea if you…went out on a date?”

“A date?” Emma laughed. “With who?”

“A blind date,” Ella said pointedly before she walked over to the oven and checked on her cupcakes. “Henry thinks it’s a good idea to set you up on a blind date.”

“Really?” Emma looked at him with one eyebrow raised. “With who?”

“Ma, it’s a blind date for a reason, you won’t know until you show up.”

“Right.” Emma paused as she knelt down to whisper something in Hope’s ear which had the toddler running out of the kitchen a second later. “Do I know who it is?”

“Yes. I guess you could call this person a friend.”

“Interesting.”

“So, you’ll agree?”

“To my son setting me up on a blind date with someone that is a friend?” Emma asked. “What do you think, Ella?”

“I--I honestly don’t know anymore,” Ella sighed defeatedly. “Henry seems convinced that it is a good match and I do have to agree. It really is.”

“Is that so?” Emma asked and Henry could see she was getting a little excited about the opportunity he was presenting her with. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Henry grinned. “You’ll do it?”

“Yeah,” she replied with a small shrug. “What do I have to lose, right? Besides, you said this blind date is with a friend, and if there are no, you know, sparks, it’ll just end up being dinner with a friend, right?”

“Right. Exactly.”

“So,” Emma said, albeit a little impatiently. “When will this blind date happen?”

“Next Friday. I have to ask the other person first,” he said carefully, hoping his mother wouldn’t catch him in the middle of a lie. It wasn’t really a lie, he just wasn’t telling her the whole truth. If she picked up on it, though, it didn’t show. “I’ll take care of everything, okay? All you have to do is show up on time, Ma. Does seven o’clock at Raul’s work?”

“Sounds good to me,” Emma said and she turned to Ella with a smile. “Those smell really good, Ella. Is there any chance I can take a few to go? Hope and I just stopped by for a quick visit. We were actually on our way to the park and she wanted to know if Lucy could come too.”

“Sure,” Ella smiled. “They won’t be ready for a while yet, so maybe when you bring Lucy home you can take some with you?”

“Sounds good. Hey, Lucy! Get your shoes on, we’re going to the park!” Emma said as she hurried out of the kitchen, leaving Henry and Ella alone.

“She actually seems excited about the idea,” Henry said quietly.

“Now, all you have to do is get Regina to agree. How are you going to manage that, honey?” Ella asked.

“I really don’t know. When it comes to Mom, timing is everything. I’ll know when the time is right to bring it up.”

“And if she doesn’t agree?”

“She will.”

“I truly admire your confidence, Hen,” Ella laughed. “I really hope for your sake and for theirs that this doesn’t end up in complete disaster.”

“I really hope not either...”


	2. Chapter 2

Sometimes fate happens only because of a choice or an idea. In this case, it was Henry that controlled their destiny by setting his mother’s up on a date with one other.

Sometimes fate has to be taken into one’s hands, controlled, perfectly set up and timed just right for everything else to fall into place.

The no-so-blind date was the _perfect _opportunity to guide them in the right direction, to let fate take over and have everything just fall into place.

And if it backfired, well, Henry didn’t worry too much about that.

He knew things were going to move forward in ways it should be, ways that it was _meant _to be. He couldn’t wait for that no-so-blind date to happen just as he couldn’t wait for the inevitable, either.

It was about time his mother’s both realized they were in love. It was about time they started the rest of their lives. _Together_.

If only he knew they were already heading in that direction. If only he knew that this not-so-blind date was _exactly _what they needed to get them there…

[X]

Emma paced her bedroom floor as she eyed the three very different outfits she’d carefully laid out on the bed. She had less than an hour to finish getting ready and to meet with her blind date at Raul’s and she was finding that she was increasingly becoming nervous as the clock neared closer to seven.

All week she had tried to get more out of Henry, specifically over who exactly it is that she’d agreed to go out on a date with. All she could get out of him was that it was a friend. That meant it could be _anyone_.

She really wanted it to be Regina, though, but she was almost certain there was no way that Henry would’ve gone as far as to set them up on a date with each other. Right?

When the news of her going out on a date had slipped out in front of Regina, she had seen that look of pure jealousy the other woman had tried and failed to hide. Emma took it as a small confirmation that Regina had feelings for her, too. Why else would she be jealous?

Emma had spent the last day and a half trying to come to terms that seeing that jealousy in Regina’s eyes so clearly had not been the first time. It hadn’t been the hundredth time, either. No, she’d seen that look a lot throughout her relationship with her now ex-husband. Regina hadn’t hidden it much before, either, but Emma had been so oblivious to it for so long that it was like taking a punch to the gut now that she knew how stupidly oblivious she’d truly been all those years.

“Shit!” Emma groaned as she glanced at the clock on the bedside table. Six-thirty on the dot.

The choice between her outfits was stark. There was her usual everyday attire, skinny jeans with a loose-fitting V-neck white shirt she could pair with one of her three leather jackets despite it being a little too warm that day to wear a jacket. There was her favourite red dress, tight in all the right places, and then there was her navy blue pantsuit she’d only ever worn once before and that was many years ago when she and Henry had lived in New York.

Casual, formal, somewhat semi-formal. First impressions were important and it was proving to be a hard and very difficult decision because she had no idea who she was actually having this blind date with or what their expectations were.

For a moment her mind went to Regina, thinking about what Regina might like to see her in if they ever went on a date--like an actual date. The red dress was the first thing to come to mind and god, she lost herself in thought as she imagined the look on Regina’s face when she saw her in it. It was similar to the hungry look that Regina gave her whenever they first arrived in their room at the inn, that very look that had Regina pouncing on Emma almost as soon as the door was shut and locked.

Was it too much for a first date? Would it give off the wrong signals to whomever this blind date turned out to be? Emma really didn’t know, but she was leaning towards that dress out of the other two outfits. It was dinner at Raul’s, a formal restaurant, and she knew she couldn’t show up wearing her usual attire. It took a few minutes of debating and then convincing herself that it was the right choice before she finally put on the dress, only barely managing to zip it up as she stared at herself in the mirror that hung on the closet door.

Emma knew she looked _good_in that dress. She had always looked good in it no matter what the occasion was when she’d worn it in the past. Paired with her matching red heels, she knew she was stunning.

She just hoped her date was inclined to agree.

But really, she wanted Regina to see her in that dress, to give her that look of approval laced with nothing but hungry desire.

No matter who the date ended up being, Emma knew one thing was for certain. Regina would, without a doubt, be on her mind all throughout dinner.

[X]

Regina frowned as she looked at herself in the floor-length mirror. Her outfit of choice was a simple black cocktail dress paired with her favourite pair of Prada heels. It wasn’t as if she’d come back to Storybrooke expecting to go out on a date, after all, and her wardrobe was very limited there these days.

Casual. It was the only place outside of her kingdom she could relax, let her hair down, wear those modern clothes that were frowned upon in the Enchanted Forest, especially for a queen. But Henry told her casual wouldn’t go over well for her blind date as it was being held at Raul’s, Storybrooke’s version of an upscale restaurant that required their patrons to dress accordingly.

Regina didn’t date. She had no experience with that kind of life. Any past relationships she’d had hadn’t involved that elusive first date in what was considered the traditional sense in that very realm. It was that realm’s traditions that revolved around the dating atmosphere that both baffled and fascinated her. She was absolutely clueless as to what a first date would entail, more specifically, a blind date. Henry had explained to her the reason behind the blind date more thoroughly earlier that day when she begged him to tell him who it was she was meeting.

Of course, Henry refused to tell her anything, no matter how much she had practically begged him for details. A blind date meant she couldn’t know who it was until she met them face to face at the restaurant. He wouldn’t budge on any of the details, he wouldn’t even give her a hint.

Regina placed a dainty gold watch on her wrist and fiddled with the clasp to get it to close before she looked at the watch face with a frown. 6:51. She had less than ten minutes to get across town to make it in time for her blind date. Panic was beginning to settle in now on top of her nerves that were binding up inside of her, turning her into a complete mess.

_“Don’t be late, Mom. You don’t want them to think they’ve been stood up.”_

A frown settled into place as Regina stared at her reflection in the mirror. She looked great, amazing even, but she felt as if there were something missing. Something felt _off_.

For the past day and a half since she agreed to the notion of going on a blind date set up by her son and his wife, the only thought on her mind was how much she wished it would end up being Emma.

Regina hadn’t even seen her or spoke with her since the other day when Emma had shown up at Henry’s to pick up her two-year-old daughter. Emma was busy working. She’d been reinstated at the town’s sheriff after she made her move back to Storybrooke in the days after her divorce had been finalized. Besides, it wasn’t as if they spent a lot of time together when Regina came to visit, not outside of their once a week meeting at the inn or the occasional dinner they had as a family.

Another glance at her watch had her panicking. 6:54. There was no way she’d make it if she drove to the restaurant that was across town even if she sped through every stop sign. Though her magic was sporadic at best while there in Storybrooke, she knew she had no other choice but to magically teleport herself near the restaurant in order to make it there on time.

“Here goes nothing,” she muttered under her breath as she grabbed her small pocketbook and clenched it tight against her chest. “What have I got to lose?”

_Nothing_.

She closed her eyes and waved a hand, magicking herself from her bedroom on Mifflin Street to the busy corner across town just across from Raul’s restaurant. She cleared her throat as she smoothed out her dress as her magical aura’s smoke cleared from around her. She took one deep breath, then another, before she walked to the front door of the small restaurant and walked inside at promptly seven o’clock.

She was just on time.

[X]

Emma nervously chewed her bottom lip as she picked up her phone to check the time. 7:01. She was late. Only just. She pulled the Bug around into the parking lot behind Raul’s and groaned in annoyance when she quickly discovered there weren’t any empty spots left. She tapped her fingers impatiently on the steering wheel, debating whether to park illegally and pay the ticket later or to find somewhere else to park and risk being late by more than a handful of minutes.

But her luck took a turn and she smiled excitedly as she watched an elderly couple enter the parking lot, strolling through holding hands until they reached the old station wagon near the entrance of the lot.

“Come on, guys, move a little faster, would you?” Emma muttered impatiently, squirming slightly in her seat as the couple gingerly got into their vehicle at a snail’s pace. “Come on, come on, drive!”

The man behind the wheel backed out with no sense of urgency even as Emma slowly inched the Bug towards the spot. She grumbled in absolute annoyance as he turned to look behind him. He waved, recognizing her immediately, and she had to force a smile and wave back, hiding her impatience as best as she could while he continued to back the car out ever so slowly.

By the time Emma finally pulled into the spot and parked, it was 7:06. She grabbed the heels that sat on the seat beside her, slipping them on her feet before she got out of the car and hurried around to the front entrance of the small restaurant. She walked inside with a huff and approached the hostess’ podium behind two other couples that were waiting to be seated.

“Name?” The hostess asked when she finally moved to the front of the line five minutes later. “Oh! Sheriff, hi, do you have a reservation?” The young girl looked at her with a beaming smile. “Sheriff Swan?”

“Oh uh, yeah, I do. I’m meeting someone. Henry said he made a reservation under--”

“Operation Blind Date,” the girl laughed with a nod. She motioned for Emma to follow her past the foyer. “Your date has already arrived, Sheriff Swan.”

“Please, call me Emma. I’m not on duty tonight.”

“Sorry, sorry.”

Emma held her phone in one hand and her keys in the other as she followed the young hostess through the busy and dimly lit restaurant. There were a lot of familiar faces seated all around her. A few gave her a curt nod as she walked past them. The hostess came to a sudden stop in front of her and Emma nearly walked straight into her.

“Sorry,” she muttered under her breath. The young girl just smiled and stepped aside, allowing her for the first time to see the table she’d been led to and her…blind date. “Regina!” Emma exclaimed, albeit a little _too_loudly that it caused other people to look over at them curiously. “Regina, what are you doing here?”

“I’d ask you the same thing, but I think I’ve figured it out,” Regina said with a small, throaty laugh that sent chills down Emma’s spine. “Are you going to sit down, dear, or are you going to stand there and stare at me all night?”

“_You’re _my blind date?”

“It seems so.”

“Oh my god,” Emma chuckled as she took a seat across from Regina with a shake of her head. “Did Henry seriously set us up?”

“Yes, I believe so, unless Ava made a mistake and brought you to my table instead of to wherever your elusive blind date is seated.”

“Oh, it’s not a mistake,” Ava chirped excitedly and handed them each a menu. “Your waiter will be with you shortly.”

“What if it is?” Emma asked nervously as she stared across the small table at Regina. “What if--”

“Call him or text him to confirm if you’d like,” Regina said, and from the tone in her voice, Emma knew she was annoyed. “I, however, don’t believe this was a mistake, Emma.”

Emma gulped hard past the lump rising in her throat. Her nerves had her on edge, but there was more to it than that. Regina was the very last person she expected to be set up with on a blind date, but she was also the only person Emma had hoped it was in the first place. Panic settled in as she leaned forward, wishing they had a much more private table and that those around them weren’t being so obvious that they were pretending not to stare and eavesdrop.

“Does he know?” Emma whispered. “Does he know about us?”

“Us?” Regina looked at her curiously. “There is an us?”

“Regina,” she groaned and pinched at the bridge of her nose. “You know what I mean. Does he know about us?”

“I certainly haven’t told him of our…affair, so unless you have, there is absolutely no way he, or anyone else for that matter, would know what we’ve been doing all these months.” Regina sat back in her chair, a frown curling over her lips. “You’re disappointed that it’s me, aren’t you, Emma?”

“No! No, it’s not that, it’s just--I--I don’t know,” Emma stammered out lamely. “I didn’t tell him, Regina. He doesn’t know that I--that we are, you know--”

“Fucking?” Regina whispered and the way she drawled out the word, the very sound of it, it had Emma’s panties growing damp with desire. “No, I don’t believe he does, dear. Now, why don’t you just call him or text him and put your mind at ease, hmm? Or, perhaps we can just enjoy dinner and a few drinks together instead of jumping to conclusions, hmm?”

“I wanted it to be you,” Emma whispered, surprised at how easy the admittance came when all she’d been doing for months was holding back on telling Regina how she really felt. She smiled as she reached across the small table for Regina’s hand. “I wanted it to be you, Regina,” she said a little more confidently. “I don’t want to be with anyone else but you.”

“Is that so, Emma?”

“Yes.”

Regina gently lifted Emma’s hand and placed a soft, lingering kiss to her knuckles. She pulled back with a dazzling smile. “I wanted it to be you, too,” she whispered as she leaned in a little bit closer to Emma. “Emma, I think we need to talk.”

“Yeah. I think we do.”

“Hello, ladies, my name is Paul. I’ll be your waiter tonight,” an older gentleman said as he approached their table, putting a halt to their conversation. “Can I interest you two in a bottle of our house red? We also have several bottles of reserve on hand if you’d prefer something else.”

“What do you recommend?” Regina asked and tightened her grip on Emma’s hand when Emma tried to pull it away. “Emma? What are you in the mood for tonight?”

_You_.

“Uh, whatever you want is fine with me, Regina.” She couldn’t take her eyes off of Regina. She glanced down at their joined hands for a moment before she gently intertwined her fingers with Regina’s and smiled as their eyes met and locked in a heavy, heated gaze.

“Paul, is it?” Regina asked smoothly as she broke the eye contact with Emma and looked up at the man. When the waiter nodded, Regina just smiled, looking every bit the queen that she was. “Bring us a bottle of your finest reserve. Red or white, it doesn’t matter. Whatever you think is best, Paul. We’ll be ready to order by the time you return.”

“Yes, ma’am. I’ll be right back.”

“So,” Emma said nervously as she stroked her thumb over Regina’s. “Talk. We need to talk.”

Regina nodded slowly. “Yes, Emma, we need to talk,” she said, her voice wavering before she paused for a second. “I know that we’ve been having a lot of fun together lately,” she continued and Emma’s heart fell in an instant as Regina sat forward, looking rather concerned. “Emma? What’s wrong?”

“You do realize the way you just said that sounds like you’re, I don’t know, breaking up with me.”

Regina laughed. She full-on laughed as she squeezed Emma’s hand and brought it up to her lips once more. “Emma, darling, you do realize we have to be together first to break up, yes?” she asked and Emma shrugged, suddenly feeling like a complete idiot. “Emma, I need to ask you something and I want you to be completely honest with me. Can you do that?”

“I can try, yes.”

“What have we been doing?” Regina asked. “All these months, what have we been doing? Is it just…an affair or is it something more?”

“Regina--”

“Because I want you to know one thing, Emma Swan,” she continued pointedly. “I love you. I am in love with you.”

“I--you--what?” Emma stammered. “You’re in love with me?”

“Yes. Very much so.”

Emma’s heart was thumping hard in her chest as she stared at the woman across from her. Regina was _in _love with her? Actually in love with her? For a second, Emma wondered if Regina was just fucking with her because how in the hell could someone like Regina Mills be in love with _her_?

“Emma?” Regina looked worried as Emma sat there, mouth agape like a fish. “Emma, are you all right? Have I said the wrong thing?”

“The wrong--no, no!” Emma said in a rush. “I’m just surprised.”

“Why?”

“You’re in love with me,” she deadpanned.

“I am.”

“Are you…expecting me to say it back?” Emma was a little confused and she knew as soon as the words left her mouth that she had said the wrong thing. “Regina, I didn’t mean it like that, I mean--”

“It’s fine,” Regina said tightly. “Are you going to answer my question, Emma?”

“Question?”

Regina sighed. “What are we doing?” she asked. “Is it just about sex for you? Is it just something fun for you? Scandalous even considering I’m your _dirty _little secret.”

They were really having that conversation. Emma was just on the verge of a panic attack. That sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach made her feel like as if she were drowning.

“That isn’t all that you are to me.”

It was the same words she’d echoed days earlier and a time before that, too. It earned her an eye roll as Regina pulled her hand away. Emma was quick to grab onto it before Regina could stand up and leave.

“Regina, you know I’m not too good at sharing how I feel,” Emma stammered quickly. “You know it’s hard for me to put, you know, what I feel into words.”

“Right.”

_Just tell her that you are in love with her too, you idiot._

Their waiter chose that moment to return with their bottle of wine, a red in a tall and sleek bottle. He smiled, unfazed and oblivious he had interrupted an integral moment between the two women seated at the table. Regina pulled her hand away once more as she pushed at the stem of her wine glass towards the waiter, indicating for him to fill her up past the halfway point. She motioned to the other glass in front of Emma just as Emma went to reach for it at the same time as their waiter did.

Emma already knew it was too late as her fingers touched the glass and tipped it over. The glass fell to the table, breaking against the small candle vase in the center. Mortified, Emma looked to the waiter in desperation as Regina started to chuckle throatily across from her.

“I’m sorry!” Emma groaned in embarrassment. “I’m really sorry. I--I--”

“It’s all right, ma’am. Let me clean this up and I’ll be right out with another glass for you,” the waiter said tightly as he quickly picked up the pieces of glass up from the table after he set the bottle of wine down near Regina’s side.

“Oh god,” Emma murmured under her breath as she palmed her face and peeked out from between her fingers over at Regina. “Are you laughing at me?”

“I am indeed, Em-_ma­_,” she said, her voice practically purring as she leaned back in her chair and lifted her glass to her lips. Emma watched, mesmerized, as Regina took a slow sip of her drink and then turned to the waiter with a smile dancing over her lips. “Paul, is it, yes? Perhaps we can move to another table and you can let one of the busboys take care of this mess?”

“I’m not sure I can do that, ma’am--erm, I mean, your majesty. I’m sorry. Excuse me while I go and talk to my manager. I’ll be right back.”

Regina stood up and extended a hand towards Emma, which caught her a little by surprise. “Come with me, dear,” she said. When Emma didn’t budge, she rolled her eyes and reached for her hand insistently. “There is an empty table over there. It seems a little more private than this one, hmm? I don’t know about you, but I am _starving_.”

“We can’t. Shouldn’t we wait for--”

“Emma,” Regina said as she gave Emma’s hand a firm tug that had her nearly toppling her chair as she stood up. “Let’s move to that table. I’d very much like to continue our conversation and order dinner.”

“Right. Okay.”

[X]

It was hard for Regina to hide her disappointment from Emma as they relocated to the only empty table in the restaurant. Their waiter hurried over to them as soon as they had sat down, and after stammering through a poorly rehearsed speech about reservations and how they’d only need a few minutes to clean up their reserved table, he stumbled away when Regina told him they were staying there at that table and to hurry along with some menus so that they could order dinner.

Regina knew the moment the words slipped out of her mouth earlier that she’d chosen the wrong moment to confess her true feelings to Emma. It seemed fitting at the time, but she knew now it had been a poorly timed confession.

Emma was not ready to involve feelings of any sort, it seemed, nor was she ready to hear of them. Despite already knowing that, she’d still let those words slip out.

It had felt right. It felt right until the disappointment had sunken in.

_“Are you expecting me to say it back?”_

Maybe she was. Maybe that’s where the disappointment stemmed from because Emma hadn’t said those words back to her she longed to hear.

But it was the wrong moment. Perhaps she should’ve waited until the evening had further progressed before they had that conversation. Her excitement, her emotions, it had her so caught up in that storm and in the moment that it had left her thinking unclearly.

And she had been so careless.

Halfway through dinner--Emma working on a medium-rare steak with a side of vegetables and Regina picking idly away at her chicken alfredo she’d haphazardly ordered--and they hadn’t continued their conversation from before. Regina wasn’t sure _how _to continue it or whether or not she _should_. Emma, on the other hand, was almost completely preoccupied by ever so carefully cutting her steak into small bite-sized pieces. Careful and meticulous.

“Do you think you’ll be in the mood to order dessert?” Regina asked, breaking the heavy silence between them. Emma’s knife and fork clattered on the plate as she looked up at Regina with wide eyes. “I think I’ll try the caramel pecan cheesecake,” she continued with a small smile. “Would you like to share or are you going to order your own dessert?”

“I--uh--” Emma stuttered and let go of her fork, quickly reaching for her nearly empty glass of wine. Her second to Regina’s first that sat barely touched since the first two sips. “Pie.”

“Pie?” Regina asked, an amused grin slipping out easily. “What kind of pie?”

Emma took another rushed sip of her drink, emptying the glass. “Apple. With ice cream on top.” Emma paused as her cheeks turned pink and Regina had to try to not laugh at her reaction. “We can share if you’d like?”

“I would like that, Emma,” Regina replied and she casually reached under the table with her right hand and placed it on Emma’s bare knee. “I’m having a really good time.”

“Are you?” Emma looked confused. “I mean we’ve barely talked since we moved over here and--”

“I’m having a really good time because I’m with _you_,” Regina clarified. Her lips curled into a small frown as Emma just stared down at what was left on her plate. “Are you not enjoying yourself, Emma?”

“I am!” Emma burst out, albeit a little too loudly. A few people around them looked over at their table before going back to minding their own business. “I am having a good time, Regina. It’s just…I wasn’t sure if you were.”

Regina stroked her fingers along the inside of Emma’s knee and grinned. “I am,” she said softly. “Emma, I want to continue our conversation from earlier, but,” she said with a small pause. “But I don’t want to push you if you’re not ready to talk about us.”

“There is an us, isn’t there?”

“Yes.”

“Like for real?” Emma asked quietly. “Like, we’re together?”

“Yes. I would like to believe we are, darling. What else would the last six months have been if it were anything else?”

“But we--”

“I know.”

“And we never--”

“I know, but I believe it is due time to come to terms with what it is we’ve been doing all this time, Emma. You know how I feel about you now. I wanted to wait until you were ready, until the time was right, and I apologize if it feels too soon for you, but I just--”

Emma silenced her by leaning over the small table to kiss her. It was short, chaste, but full of promise and hope for so much more much later. She could feel the heat burning off of Emma’s cheeks before they parted and she gently squeezed Emma’s knee, not quite ready to take her hand away just yet.

“Regina, as I said before, I’m not too good at putting what I feel into words,” Emma murmured. “But,” she said with a small pause as she placed a hand over the one on her knee. “When I’m with you, Regina, the whole world just slips away, and all I see is you. The things I feel when I’m with you, I’ve never felt with anyone before. It’s scary because it’s new and it’s not that new, you know?”

“What do you mean?”

“What I mean is,” Emma said as she deftly licked over her lips, “I’ve always had these feelings for you. For a long time. Don’t ask me how long because I’m still trying to figure that out,” she said with a small, awkward laugh. “The way I feel about you is complicated and it’s not. You’re my best friend, Regina.”

Regina’s heart was pounding hard in her chest and she stroked her fingers lightly over Emma’s inner knee as she waited as patiently as she could for Emma to continue. She was afraid if she said anything that Emma’s walls would slam right back up, much like they had before when she said those three words to her.

“I love you. I’ve loved you for a long time,” Emma continued after they just stared at one another for a moment. “I think I’ve been _in _love with you for a long time, too, but it’s changed. It changed as soon as we started…fucking. Don’t get me wrong. I love spending time with you like that.”

“You love being naked with me?” Regina whispered softly so that only Emma could hear her. “I see.”

“But,” Emma said in a rush, her cheeks darkening in colour as she picked Regina’s hand up off her knee and gently intertwined their fingers. “I like spending any time that I can get with you, Regina. The other day, I really didn’t want to leave, but I had to.”

“I know.”

“I think the one question I have for you is…” Emma trailed off and she looked around at the people at the tables nearby for a moment before her eyes met Regina’s once more. “How is this going to work, Regina? You’ve got this whole other life in the Enchanted Forest and I’m…here, living a whole different life in Storybrooke.”

“I know.”

Emma grit her teeth and Regina frowned. What else was she supposed to say? What was Emma expecting her to say to something like that? Being in different realms was a whole different kind of ballgame. It was a long-distance relationship, really. Regina wasn’t sure how she’d handle something like that as she wanted to be with Emma every single day, every moment they could get. Regina already spent more time than she really could allow herself travelling to that realm to be with her family in Storybrooke once a week. She wasn’t sure how much more she could manage without interfering with her duties as the queen.

“Perhaps we don’t have to figure that out tonight,” Regina said. She offered Emma a small smile of reassurance that wasn’t returned. “Perhaps,” she continued as she leaned in a little closer to Emma, “we can talk about this tomorrow and just continue our date instead, hmm?”

“Okay.”

“But?” Regina sensed the hesitance as it was coming off of Emma in waves.

“Are we going to tell everyone about us?”

“Only when you’re ready to.”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

“But?”

Regina laughed. “People talk, as you and I both know,” she whispered. “Everyone that has seen us here together tonight will be gossiping about this tomorrow. I’m afraid it won’t be much of a secret kept amongst ourselves for much longer.”

“And Henry already knows. I mean, he set us up on this blind date, after all.”

“Right,” Regina chuckled. “Are you all right, Emma?”

“Am I--yes,” she stammered. “I’m great. Just kind of freaking out here.”

“Why?”

“Well, it’s _you_. I don’t know, what if nobody accepts this? Accepts _us_?” Emma said in a rush as panic settled in fully. “What if our family isn’t okay with this?”

“Why wouldn’t they be okay with us, darling?”

“Are you serious?”

“Quite.”

“Are you going to drink that?” Emma asked, already reaching for Regina’s wine glass before she responded. Upon Regina’s slow nod, Emma took one sip and then another before she downed the last of the wine. “There is so much history. I know we’ve gotten way past all of that, but, I don’t know, what if our family just doesn’t accept it?”

“I think they all may surprise you.”

“Really? You think so?”

“I hope so,” she said softly. “Emma, would that change things between us?”

“I don’t know.”

“Is that why you wanted to keep things between us a secret?”

Emma squirmed a little in her seat and tightened her grip on Regina’s hand. “I think I liked having you all to myself, Regina,” she admitted. “I didn’t have to share you, you know?”

“Share me?” she laughed. “Oh darling,” she laughed again with a shake of her head. “I am certain that if we tell our family about us that they’ll allow us time alone together when we need it.”

“Have you met our family?” Emma scoffed. “More importantly, have you met my mother? As soon as she finds out, she’s never going to let us have a moment alone!”

“Why would she do that?”

Emma rolled her eyes. “Again, have you--”

“Emma, relax, please,” Regina said as she shushed her. “Let’s just enjoy tonight and worry about everything else tomorrow. Can you do that? For me?”

Emma took a few deep breaths before she started to relax and felt the tension that took over her entire body begin to dissipate. “Okay,” she said with a smile. “Let’s just enjoy our date. Yeah. Good idea, Regina.”

“I have an even better idea, Em-_ma_.”

“Oh?”

“Why don’t we get our dessert to go, hmm?” Regina purred as her libido started to rev into overdrive, her thoughts now centered on getting Emma alone and in their room at the inn. “I have a few other ideas on how we can continue our date. Elsewhere.”

“Only a few?” Emma chuckled nervously. “Okay.”

[X]

_Don't be an idiot. Don't screw this up, Swan._

Emma was fumbling with her keys and her phone as she led the way through the parking lot to her car with Regina trailing close behind with a container that held their dessert they’d ordered to go.

Why couldn’t she just tell Regina how she felt? Why was it so hard for her to utter those three little words? She knew how she felt about Regina. She knew she was in love with her, so why couldn’t she just _tell _her?

“You look very beautiful tonight, Emma,” Regina said, the compliment catching Emma a little off-guard as they reached her car. “I quite like this dress on you.”

“Thank you.” Emma blushed as she turned to Regina, allowing her eyes to linger over Regina’s body lustfully and openly. “You look very beautiful too, Regina. I should’ve told you that earlier, but--”

“Thank you, darling.”

A small moan slipped past her lips at the way Regina called her darling. It felt right. It made her feel a lot of things, really, but mostly it made her just want to kiss the woman senseless. So, she did.

Emma kissed Regina there in the middle of the parking lot as the sun started to set low in the sky. The kiss wasn’t chaste, it was thorough and deep. Full of promise. Emma kept it relatively short though, and as they parted, a reverberating moan slipped past Regina’s slightly parted lips and caused Emma’s brain to nearly short circuit.

“Shall we head to the inn or go elsewhere, Emma?”

“Uh. What?” Emma blinked as she stared at Regina. Her brain wasn’t exactly firing on all pistons at the moment. “Uh, maybe we can go to my place tonight instead?”

“Really?”

“Sure,” Emma shrugged. “I mean, Lucy is there watching Hope right now and I told her I’d only be a few hours and it’s been a few hours and--”

“Breathe,” Regina chuckled lightly. “We can go to your house and relieve our granddaughter of her babysitting duties. We can continue our date there if that puts your mind at ease or we can just simply say goodnight instead?”

Emma didn’t miss the hint of disappointment that shone in Regina’s brown eyes. She knew exactly what was on Regina’s mind because it was on hers, too. She wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of the night with Regina in all the ways she could be with her, in ways they’d gotten accustomed to over the last six months especially.

“I don’t want our date to end yet, Regina.”

“Neither do I.”

“Are you worried about showing up at the house together? I mean, Lucy knows we’re both supposed to be out on a date, but she doesn’t know we’ve been set up. I understand if you--”

“Henry set this whole not-blind date up,” Regina said. “Lucy already knows.”

“How--”

“Oh, she knows,” she chuckled lightly. “Are _you_worried, darling?”

“Me? No. Not if you aren’t, but if you are then I--”

“Emma, I just told you earlier that I am in love with you. Do you honestly think that I would have confessed to you how I feel if I was worried about our granddaughter or anyone else knowing that we’re together?”

“So, we are together?”

“Yes,” Regina sighed. She shook her head and leaned in to place a soft, lingering kiss upon Emma’s lips. “Unless you are having second thoughts about us, Emma?”

“No, I’m not, I’m just--I don’t know. This is new and--”

“Not that new,” Regina chuckled. “We have been fucking for what, six months now, hmm? Definitely not that new, my love.”

“Right.”

“Shall we?” Regina asked as she motioned to Emma’s car. “You were just concerned about relieving our granddaughter of her babysitting duties, after all.”

Emma laughed nervously as she hurried to open the passenger door for Regina. She silently swore at herself for feeling so nervous at all in the first place. There was no reason to be. Regina had proved that over the course of dinner and afterward. She was still proving it to her, too.

She was starting to feel like she didn’t deserve any of this, much less Regina or the love that Regina obviously had for her.

Well, if it had been that obvious, she wouldn’t have had her doubts about her own feelings for as long as she had.

“Emma?” Regina laughed as she sat in the passenger seat and stared up at her. “Are we leaving or are we going to stay here for the rest of the night?”

“Right. Leaving,” Emma said in a rush before she closed the passenger door and rushed around to the other side of the car. She took a few deep breaths before she got in behind the wheel and smiled over at her date. “Sorry if I’m being weird. I’m just a little nervous still.”

“Why are you nervous?”

“_You _make me nervous, Regina.” Emma sucked in a sharp breath as Regina’s hand fell to her thigh just below the hem of her tight dress. “Nervous in a good way, though.”

“Interesting,” Regina purred, her fingers dancing along Emma’s bare skin teasingly.

Emma glanced down at Regina’s hand and her wandering fingers. She swallowed thickly as wave after wave of arousal fluttered through her body.

“Shall we?” Regina said insistently. “Emma?”

“Right. Leaving. Driving now.”

Regina laughed as she slipped her hand further up Emma’s thigh, her fingers continuing to dance teasingly over her skin, a promise of what would come as the evening and their date continued.


	3. Chapter 3

Sometimes secrets aren’t always secrets. Emma found out the hard way as soon as they walked in the front door of her house hand in hand to find Lucy and Hope were gone.

A note had been left in place by none other than Henry, which eased both their worries.

_Moms, I picked Lucy and Hope up shortly after eight. We’re having a sleepover party at our place tonight. Don’t worry about it. You’re welcome and enjoy your evening together. We’ll see you and Mom tomorrow for lunch? Dinner?_

_ \- Your loving and awesome son, Henry_

It was then that they both realized their son _knew_. He knew long before he set out to set them up on a not-blind date together. They knew he’d taken fate into his own hands by setting them up together, hoping for everything to just fall into place.

Sometimes, a love story doesn’t begin in obvious ways. It definitely hadn’t for them. They were only just beginning to realize it as they settled down in Emma’s living room with two forks and the container of their dessert they’d ordered to go.

[X]

“How long do you think he’s known about us?” Emma asked as Regina opened the container with their dessert inside. “He definitely knows we’ve been, you know…”

“I don’t think he knows about that,” Regina replied. “But what I think he does know is that there is something between us. I think he simply wanted to give us that push.”

“Right.”

Regina nervously chewed her bottom lip as she let her fork hover over her own dessert. “Emma, would we have gotten here if it weren’t for him?”

“I think so?”

“You don’t sound so sure.”

“Regina, when it comes to you, I’ve never been sure of anything,” Emma said softly. Regina nodded solemnly as she lowered her eyes to her hand resting in her lap. “I’ve never been sure of anything until we started fucking,” she continued before she reached out for Regina’s hand and gently intertwined their fingers. “Let me be clear about one thing, Regina, I _am _sure about my feelings for you. I wasn’t ready for a long time to admit them because I wasn’t sure how you felt about me. I thought we were just, you know, fucking and having fun.”

“Like we were, what is that word, friends with benefits?”

“Yeah.”

“We were fairly oblivious, weren’t we?” Regina mused. “When it came to our feelings,” she added as an afterthought. “I’ve known for a very long time how I feel about you and nothing has ever changed that. In fact, every time we’ve been together throughout all these months, it’s only deepened and strengthened what I feel.”

“We were stubborn, weren’t we?”

“Yes,” Regina chuckled and lifted Emma’s hands to her lips and kissed over her knuckles lightly. “Very stubborn indeed.”

“So, now what?”

“Hmm?” Regina looked into Emma’s eyes, searching for the words she wasn’t saying. Words she knew she might not say at all. “Now what?”

“Yeah, I mean, I know this is our first official date and everything, but we’re--”

“Much further along than that?” Regina finished for her and laughed as Emma blushed and turned to look away. “Why don’t we take things one day at a time, darling. That way there is no pressure to pursue things too quickly.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think, perhaps, that is a conversation we will need to have in the future, not tonight.”

_I just want to live the rest of my life with you, Emma._

From the very moment she saw Emma walk into the restaurant, even before she was brought to the table she had only just been seated at moments earlier, she _knew _that fate, the powers that be, and of course their son, was hard at work to get them together.

At first, she thought it had to have been some kind of a joke, that maybe the hostess got the reservations mixed and seated them together. That quickly disappeared from her train of thought as she became mesmerized at how gorgeous Emma was in that red dress that hugged every dip and curve on her body as if she’d been poured into it.

Emma had been surprised it was _her_, possibly more so than she’d been to see Emma, and Regina had managed to keep her cool while internally she was, as Emma would so eloquently put it, freaking out.

And now, now all she wanted was for Emma to kiss her. To hold Emma in her arms, to feel her warmth, the strength in her tender touch, to feel safe as she always did whenever they were close. All she wanted was to lose herself in Emma, for the rest of the world to just disappear for a little while.

“Wait,” Emma said quietly and they just stared into one another’s eyes for a long moment. “You knew how you felt about me? You knew this when we first started--”

“Yes.”

“Oh.”

Regina swallowed hard as she eased a bit of her cheesecake onto her fork and brought it up to her lips. It was delicious. Perfect. Much like how it felt to kiss Emma in the parking lot. Her eyes fell to Emma’s lips in yearning.

“Emma,” Regina whispered. “How could I have _not _fallen in love with you?”

“Why didn’t you tell me this before?”

“You weren’t ready to hear me say those words just yet. I hadn’t planned on saying anything tonight, I didn’t even know it was you I’d be meeting for dinner until you showed up, but I was certainly happy it was.”

“I wanted it to be you, too.” Emma didn’t take her eyes off of Regina as she reached for the fork and placed it inside the container with their mostly untouched dessert. “When Henry mentioned it’d be with a friend, I wanted it to be _you_.”

“Was it everything you thought it’d be? Our first date?” Regina asked and they both laughed, falling into one another. “I suppose it could’ve been…worse.”

“Worse?”

“It could’ve been someone else.”

“Right.”

Regina shook her head and lifted her hands to cup Emma’s face gently. “Tonight has been perfect, Emma, it’s been perfectly _us_,” she whispered. “Will you kiss me now, darling?”

“Uh, Regina, of course I--”

Regina moved quickly to place a kiss upon Emma’s lips to quiet her before she could utter another word. She smiled into the kiss and felt Emma’s lips begin to curl into that soft little smile Regina had learned she just could not _resist_. Emma moaned as she gently took Emma’s bottom lip between her teeth. Another moan slipped past Emma’s lips and it reverberated through Regina, causing her to moan as their kiss deepened.

Her hands slipped around to the nape of Emma’s neck, her fingers dancing along smooth skin, leaving goosebumps in their wake. She gripped gently and held Emma right where she was, teasing her with the tip of her tongue gliding over Emma’s top lip. Her lips curled into a smile before she languidly plunged her tongue past Emma’s trembling lips, deepening the kiss once more.

The kiss was different than any other they’d shared before. There was weight behind that kiss, meaning, true and deep meaning that was filled with vast amounts of love Regina could feel just rushing out of her. As if she had an endless supply of love. Maybe she did, but only for Emma.

A laugh escaped from Regina suddenly as Emma’s hands went to her hips and eased her onto her lap. Another laugh slipped out as the sound of fabric ripping caused them to pull apart from one another completely as Regina straddled and settled down on top of Emma’s legs.

“Oh shit,” Emma groaned, her fingers immediately dancing over the rip in Regina’s dress along the outside of her thigh. “Shit, Regina, your dress!”

“It’s only a silly dress, no need to freak out about a tiny little tear, darling,” Regina said casually, smiling at her lover who looked so terrified at what she thought was about to happen next. “Why don’t you just take it off of me, hmm? I mean, if you feel so inclined and don’t want to…ruin it further.”

“Here?” Emma blinked up in confusion. “You want me to take off your dress _here_? In my living room? Uh, don’t you want to, I don’t know, take this into the bedroom first before we start…getting…naked.”

As Emma stumbled over the last few words, Regina had taken it upon herself to slide down the zipper along the side of her dress and removed it with ease, slipping it up her body and over her head before she tossed it haphazardly behind her on the floor. She could feel Emma’s hands trembling as she smoothed them up her thighs and along the straps of the garter she wore.

“Damn,” Emma murmured. “You dressed like this for a first date?”

“Yes.”

“What if it wasn’t me?”

Regina laughed as she lifted her hands to run her fingers gently through Emma’s hair. “Then this,” she drawled out slowly as she followed Emma’s eyes that roamed over her ruby red lingerie, “would’ve been for my eyes and my knowledge only.”

“Good thing it wasn’t someone else, huh?”

“Indeed.”

“Regina?” Emma bit her bottom lip as her eyes lingered on Regina’s breasts for a moment before she looked up into Regina’s eyes. “Why does this feel different?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, usually by now, we’re knuckle deep and, well, you know.”

“Hmm?” Regina’s lips curled into an amused smirk as Emma blushed, pink tinging her cheeks and moving slowly down her neck to her chest. “It is different,” she mused. “Everything is different now, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. I--I feel like, I don’t know, like this is the first time.”

“Only our first time didn’t consist of you thinking this much, did it?”

“No.”

Regina gently smoothed her thumbs over Emma’s temples before threading her fingers through her hair. “Why are you thinking this much now, my love?” she asked and she watched as Emma’s eyes fluttered shut as she continued to stroke her fingers through her hair and along her scalp. “Emma?”

“Because it’s real.”

“None of the other times we’ve been together have been real?” Regina fought the urge to roll her eyes even though Emma’s were still shut and she wouldn’t have seen her anyway. “Emma, darling, please explain. I cannot read your mind.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier if you could?” Emma chuckled lightly. “You love me, you’re in love with me, and I don’t know, it just feels different now that I know.”

“It shouldn’t feel that different, darling. Every time we’ve been together, I’ve tried to express what I felt without words.”

“I know. I know, I just, I thought I was just imagining it. That I wanted you to love me like I love you so badly that I--I--” Emma shook her head as she moved her hands to Regina’s hips. “You’ve loved me the whole time we were having this whole affair, haven’t you?”

“Yes, I have.”

“Would we have ever ended up in that place if you didn’t feel that way about me?”

“No. I don’t think so, Emma. I’m not--I don’t--that isn’t who I am anymore, that isn’t who I’ve been for a very long time. Because it was you, because of the way I feel for you, it made it easy to fall into that place with you. And just to be clear, Emma Swan,” Regina said as she leaned in closer, their lips only a hairsbreadth apart. “I have loved you for far longer than you even know.”

“Tell me.”

“Years and years.”

“No,” Emma whispered with a shake of her head. “Tell me when you knew.”

“Before Neverland.”

Emma’s eyes went wide at her admission. While it wasn’t the whole truth, it wasn’t exactly a stretch of it, either. She had fallen in love with Emma when she thought she hated her, her own emotions playing tricks on her until she was ready to acknowledge those feelings she felt stirring inside of her weren’t hate but more. Love. She knew since before the first curse had been broken and that had thrown her for a loop, definitely.

Timing was everything, Regina realized, and timing was never something either of them had on their side all those years. Their chance hadn’t come until Emma’s divorce had--finally--happened. Regina had jumped at that chance because she had been so sure she’d lost it years before when Emma walked down the aisle to marry _him_.

Timing was sketchy too, because while Regina knew _now_that she was in love with Emma and could admit it freely to herself, that had only started to become a reality just before Henry had been taken and their journey in Neverland began.

“Before?” Emma whispered. “Really?”

“Yes.”

“How did I not know? Regina, how come you--”

“Because I never told you, Emma. Timing had never been right. You had Hook and Neal pining after you in Neverland and afterward, and then with the second curse…well, as I said, the timing has never been right.”

“Until tonight?”

“Until tonight,” Regina echoed. “Perhaps we can continue this conversation later, hmm?” she asked as she glanced down at Emma’s body and the red dress that had her mind conjuring up a hundred different fantasies involving Emma in that dress alone. “I would very much like to continue where we left off, Em-_ma_.”

Regina’s fingers trailed down to Emma’s neck and she pushed her hair aside, her fingers dancing along the straps of Emma’s dress. Her lips were on Emma’s not a second later, overwhelmed with emotion in the heat of the moment. She conveyed that rush of emotions into that very kiss.

It was _the _kiss.

True Love’s Kiss.

Regina pulled back in surprise as Emma did, their eyes searching one another’s for so many unspoken questions, and for the answers to all of them. Magic crackled in the air around them and Regina’s heart was racing hard in her chest. Emma’s was racing just as hard, she discovered, as she placed her palm over Emma’s chest just over her heart. It was clear that Emma hadn’t expected it to happen just as much as Regina hadn’t.

“Did we just--”

“Yes.”

“Did that seriously just--”

“Yes, Emma.”

“Fuck,” Emma chuckled throatily. “For real?”

“Yes,” Regina laughed. “That just happened. For real.”

“Seriously?”

Regina shook her head and cupped Emma’s face with her hands. “It happened,” she whispered. “I’m just as surprised as you.”

“I’m not that surprised.”

“You’re not?”

“Well, a little bit, but I’m just surprised that it happened _now_.”

Regina kissed Emma’s forehead, her lips lingering for a second before she kissed the tip of Emma’s nose, and then her lips a moment later. “Did you know we might be--?” Regina asked, her voice wavering with emotion as she stared deeply into Emma’s eyes.

“I don’t know. I kind of hoped?” Emma whispered, shrugging as she scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. She relaxed a moment later and smoothed her hands over Regina’s bare sides just above her hips. “I think I stopped believing in real love when it never happened for me. Well, not never, but Henry doesn’t count.”

“Right.”

“Has it ever happened for you?”

“Henry doesn’t count,” Regina echoed and they both started to laugh. “No, Emma, it’s never happened before aside from our son. I truly believed I would never experience True Love’s Kiss with someone I was in love with. I truly believed I was not worthy or that perhaps I’d missed my chance. I suppose I was wrong all along, hmm?”

“Yeah. So was I apparently.”

“Indeed.”

“So, now what?”

Regina chuckled as she writhed a little on Emma’s lap. “As I said before, I would like to very much continue where we left off, darling,” she whispered huskily. “That is all I want right now. All I want is you.”

“Shouldn’t we talk about this first?”

“We’ve talked about it, Emma, and I’m done talking about it. We can discuss this later or perhaps tomorrow. Right now,” she said before she moved to get up from Emma’s lap. She licked over her lips slowly, salaciously, and reached for Emma’s hands. “Right now, I want you. I want to _devour _you.”

“Okay…”

“I want to make you mine. Over and over again.”

“Okay.”

“Emma?” Regina tried not to laugh at the trance she’d put Emma in. “Are you all right?”

“Just…basking in the moment,” Emma said slowly before she rose up to her feet and gripped a little tighter onto Regina’s hands. “Bedroom?”

“Yes.”

“Regina?” Emma’s voice was quiet and it stopped Regina from purposefully leading the way towards the stairs and to Emma’s bedroom. “I knew since before Neverland, too.”

[X]

The early morning sunlight streamed in through the small opening in the drapes and danced along the floor and the foot of the bed. Dust swirls rose as Emma eased the sheets off of her legs and she watched, mesmerized by the patterns the dust made in the air. Her eyes drifted to the woman sound asleep beside her in her bed and she smiled.

Emma Swan could not remember a time in her life where she felt so content.

Happy.

Loved.

She wrestled with the thoughts that swarmed her mind all through the night, more so now in the quiet moments of the early morning.

_How could we have wasted so much time?_

_How did I not know she was in love with me, too?_

_Why did it take us so long to realize what we could have together?_

_Why did we waste so much time when we could’ve been together all this time?_

Because life wasn’t always easy and Emma knew that. Her life had been far from easy from the very moment she was born. Life had never been fair, either, but that was something she’d long since accepted and learned how to deal with.

But, as she lay beside her lover, her _true love_, she wondered if this was all just a ploy by fate, falsely leading her down a path that would just ultimately break her heart.

There was so much they had to talk about--and not just the fact that they’d shared True Love’s Kiss last night either. Regina was due to return to her home in the Enchanted Forest while Emma stayed there to resume her life in Storybrooke as it had been for the last six months.

How would it work between them if they were literally realms apart more often than not? It put a whole new spin on long-distance relationships and one that Emma wasn’t sure she was ready to deal with just yet.

All she wanted was to spend every moment she could with Regina.

All she wanted was to wake up every morning beside Regina.

All she wanted was to fall asleep every night in Regina’s arms after hours upon hours of making love.

Emma Swan never got what she wanted, and there was a time where she was okay with that, but things were different now. Emma wanted what she wanted. Emma wanted Regina, she wanted her in every sense of the word, in every way that Regina would allow her to have her.

It amazed her at how far she’d come in just a matter of days in the way she thought, the way she viewed the world, and most importantly, the way she felt about Regina and their not-so-new and not-so-secret relationship.

All it took was a not-so-blind date, set up by their son, to really push them into a place they hadn’t been ready to reach on their own. Maybe they would’ve gotten there, one way or another they would’ve, Emma was sure of it, but it would’ve taken time.

How much time, she wasn’t sure.

She reflected on the things they said over dinner and afterward, mainly the things that Regina had said to her right before and right after she confessed her love. Regina hadn’t told her because she knew Emma hadn’t been ready to hear it.

Knowing that Regina loved her enough and knew her well enough to know to wait until Emma was ready, it just made Emma fall a little bit more in love with her.

Was it crazy she felt this way? That, even though she’d felt this way for a long time, it still felt so new and yet so right. It felt like life was starting to go her way, that all the little pieces were coming back together, bit by bit.

“Swan, turn off the lights and go back to sleep.”

Emma chuckled as she lifted a hand to brush Regina’s hair from across her forehead. “It’s the sun, Regina.”

“Then close the damn drapes. It’s too early.”

“Definitely not a morning person then, huh?”

“What?” Regina blinked open her eyes in confusion and mild irritation. “Me? Not a morning person?”

“Yes, you.”

“I didn’t take you for one either.”

“I’m not.”

“You’re awake,” Regina deadpanned. “And smiling.”

“Yep, that I am.”

“Why?”

Emma laughed as she leaned in to place a soft kiss to the corner of Regina’s mouth. “No reason,” she whispered. “I’ve been thinking a lot actually.”

“It’s too early for that.”

“Right,” Emma said and laughed again. “Regina?”

“Emma,” she echoed and closed her eyes, but not before she snapped her fingers at the partially open drapes and they closed on her command. “Go back to sleep. Whatever it is you want to talk to me about, it can certainly wait until a much more decent hour, hmm?”

“I love you,” Emma whispered and leaned in to kiss Regina again. “That’s all I wanted to say.”

The smile that curled over Regina’s lips gave Emma butterflies. Gone was the scowl at it being too early to be awake and replaced with a brilliant smile. A happy one.

A smile only a fool in love could have.

“I love you too, Emma,” Regina whispered, her hands slipping over Emma’s bare stomach, fingers teasing in circles around her navel. “It feels so wonderful to be able to say it to you now.”

“Yeah, it really does, huh?”

Regina laughed and turned on her side, her eyes wide open, her smile still dancing over her lips as her fingers trailed a line from Emma’s navel to the closely cropped hair that ended just at her pubic bone. Regina’s intentions were clear and it left Emma feeling a little confused for a moment. She bit her tongue, though, and only because she wanted to see just how far Regina was planning to take things.

Not a morning person? Emma couldn’t help but laugh at the very thought of that and how Regina had completely done a one-eighty as soon as those three words slipped past her lips.

“I’ve never done this before.”

“What?” Emma asked. “Pretty sure we’ve done _this _before.”

“No,” Regina said with a shake of her head. “Wake up with someone. I’ve never--”

“Oh.”

“I could get used to this,” she continued, her fingers slipping lower as Emma’s let her legs fall open. “To be honest, Emma, I’ve been thinking a lot too.”

“Oh?”

“About us.” Regina’s fingers deftly slipped between Emma’s folds, teasing at her entrance before moving to rub over her now throbbing clit. “About what the future holds.”

“What does the future hold?” Emma asked, fumbling over her words as pure pleasure began to course through her body. “Fuck,” she groaned as Regina’s fingers continued in their ministrations on her clit. “Regina…”

“I’ve never been much of a fortune teller,” Regina whispered, her lips suddenly only a hairsbreadth away from Emma’s, her breath falling upon them with each word. “But,” she murmured, placing a soft kiss to Emma’s lips and then to her chin. “I foresee many mornings just like this.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Oh yes,” Regina chuckled. She playfully nipped at Emma’s bottom lip, her fingers stilling as she moved to kneel between Emma’s legs. “Exactly like this.”

Emma closed her eyes and moaned softly as she moved her hands to Regina’s shoulders and raked her short nails along her skin. She took a moment just to look up into Regina’s eyes, losing herself in them almost completely before she pulled her down for a deep and thorough kiss--morning breath be damned.

Regina just sank into her, giving in completely. The kiss was slow and lazy as it was passionate and full of words that were left unspoken. The kiss was full of promise of many more morning just like that and Emma was suddenly filled with a host of emotions that quickly overwhelmed her and brought tears to her eyes. Happy ones.

“Oh, darling,” Regina whispered as she pulled back from Emma’s lips and quickly kissed away the tears that began to fall. “Why are you crying, my love?”

“I’m just happy.”

Regina smiled and slowly leaned back in to kiss away a few more tears. “I make you happy?” she asked and Emma nodded, her lips quivering as she smiled. “You make me happy too, Emma.”

“This is crazy, isn’t it?” Emma asked. “Us? Being together? Us being like this together? It’s crazy, isn’t it?”

“Possibly, but it feels right.”

“Yeah, it really does.”

Regina sighed as she pressed her forehead against Emma’s and stifled a yawn that made Emma laugh. “It’s still too early,” she said after a moment. “Perhaps we can continue this after we’ve slept for a little longer, hmm?”

“You’re really gonna get me all worked up and then leave me hanging, huh?”

Regina laughed as she moved to lay back down beside her and placed a lingering kiss to Emma’s cheek. “Yes,” she murmured. “But don’t you worry, darling, I’ll more than make it up to you in a couple of hours.”

“You’re evil.”

“Formerly.”

Emma couldn’t help but laugh.

[X]

“When do you think they’ll be here?” Henry asked as he sat at the kitchen table with his wife, his focus not on the sandwiches they’d made for lunch nor on his daughter and Hope either. “Do you think everything went all right last night?”

“Henry, honey, it’s after twelve,” Ella said, chuckling as Henry scrunched his face as he turned to look at her. “I’d say it went _really _well last night.”

“God, don’t make me think about _that_.”

“About what?” Ella asked innocently. “Henry, I know they are your mother’s and that it’s weird to think about how happy they are together, but--”

“I’m not listening!” Henry groaned as he stuck his fingers in his ears and closed his eyes, shuddering slightly. “La-la-la--”

“Stop acting like you’re twelve!” Ella laughed as she playfully poked him in the shoulder and swatted at his hands until he pulled his fingers out of his ears. “They’ll get here when they get here. Whenever they’re ready. I’m sure it’ll be soon.”

“Do you think they’ll, you know, be together now?” Henry asked. “I mean, if last night went well and everything?”

“I think so.” Ella looked at him for a moment before she smiled and asked, “isn’t that the whole reason behind setting them up in the first place?”

“Yeah. Yeah,” he replied with a slow nod. “I mean, you felt it too last night, didn’t you?”

“True Love’s Kiss? Yes. I think the whole town did.”

Henry just smiled and sat back in his chair, thinking of the future and what would come next. Suddenly, his smile turned into a worried frown and he sat forward with a jolt. “My grandparents are coming today,” he said. “They have _no _idea about any of this. They have _no _idea we set them up on a not-blind date last night. What if--”

“They know,” Ella deadpanned.

“What?”

“They know,” she repeated. “Snow mentioned it to me quite a while ago that she had a feeling that there was something between Emma and Regina. She also mentioned that she wished they’d somehow figure it out sooner rather than later.”

“Why are you telling me this _now_? Why didn’t you tell me this before?”

“I don’t know, honey, but it’s nothing to worry about. They’ve been rooting for the two of them for a very long time, probably longer than you even realize.”

“I had no idea they even knew!”

“Snow _can _keep a secret when she truly wants to, at least that’s what she told me.”

“Apparently so can you!”

Ella laughed and leaned over to place a kiss on his cheek. “Don’t worry, honey, that’s the only secret I’ve kept from you as of late. Why don’t you take the girls out into the living room and put on a movie while I clean up in here?”

“No, you go, I’ll clean up,” he said and smiled at his wife. “You already do too much around here as it is.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Go.”

Henry sat back and watched as his wife ushered the girls out of the kitchen, the three of them chattering about what movie they’d watch that afternoon while they waited for Emma and Regina to arrive at the house. As soon as they were out of the kitchen, Henry grabbed his phone and sent a text to Emma.

** _Hey, just wondering when you and Mom are going to be here? Don’t worry, Hope is fine. We just finished lunch and Ella is getting the girls settled down to watch a movie._ **

He placed his phone on the kitchen table and started to clean up the empty plates, save for the crust that Hope and Lucy didn’t finish. He nearly dropped the plates into the sink when he heard the chime on his phone alerting him he’d received a text.

** _We’re on our way now. Be there in a few._ **

As soon as he read the text, he heard a car pull up in the driveway and he hurried out to the front window in the living room, ignoring Ella asking him what he was doing. Henry watched as the yellow Bug came to a stop and then watched as Emma got out of the car and hurried around to the passenger side to open the door for Regina. They were both smiling as they walked up the front walkway, hand in hand, eyes on one another.

And Henry smiled too because he couldn’t ever recall a time when he’d seen his mother’s look so happy. So in love.

“Hey!” Henry said as soon as he opened the front door, startling both women as they clearly hadn’t expected him to be there. “How did everything go last night?”

“Wonderful, dear,” Regina smiled as she let go of Emma’s hand and moved to hug him tight. “Sorry we’re a little later than you expected. We--”

“Had a late night,” Emma interjected quickly. “We were up for hours…talking.”

“Right,” Henry laughed and cringed a little at the thought of what they were really doing last night. “So, you’re not mad?”

“Why would we be mad?” Regina asked as they entered the house together. “Henry, we’re the complete opposite of mad.”

“Yeah, I can see that.”

“Thank you,” Regina said quietly as Emma walked over to Hope and scooped her up into her arms, covering her chubby little cheeks in kisses. “Thank you for setting things up last night, Henry. We had a wonderful time and it was just what we needed.”

“You’re welcome, Mom. I just thought, you know, maybe there was something there between you guys and you just, you know, needed a little push in order to realize it.”

“So, you didn’t know we were already kind of seeing each other?” Emma asked as she let Hope back down on her feet.

“What?” Henry asked. “You were--what?!”

“Oh,” Emma frowned as she looked at Regina in alarm. “You didn’t know?”

“Know what?!” Henry asked, his voice rising a few octaves. “You two were already--”

“Yes, dear,” Regina said softly. “We were already…seeing each other. We just--”

“How long?” Henry demanded as he crossed his arms over his chest. “How long have you two been seeing each other and keeping it a secret?”

“Henry, don’t act like you didn’t already know,” Ella said as she moved to stand beside him. “Well, we suspected, we didn’t actually know.”

“How long?” Henry asked again and he watched as his mother’s exchanged a look yet didn’t say a word. “How long, Moms?”

“Since Emma’s divorce,” Regina answered after a few very long minutes of silence passed between them. “It’s--”

“Complicated,” Emma finished. “We were just--”

“Just what? Sleeping together or something?” Henry laughed. He groaned when neither admitted nor denied it. “Gross! I don’t need to know _that_!”

“Oh, Henry, grow up,” Ella said and they all erupted into laughter as Henry just grumbled and furrowed his brow. “I think it’s wonderful you two are together now. I wasn’t sure it was a good idea when Henry mentioned setting you two up, but I get it now.”

“Uh, we uh--” Emma stammered and cleared her throat as a smile slipped into place as soon as she looked at Regina again. “Yeah, we’re together now, aren’t we?”

“Yes, darling, we are.”

“Are you two hungry?” Ella asked in an attempt to break the awkward tension that had settled between all of them. “I made some extra sandwiches if you are?”

“I’m starving,” Emma said quickly and she reached for Regina’s hand. “We both are, aren’t we?”

“Yes. We haven’t eaten yet this morning.”

“Mom, it’s after twelve!” Henry groaned. “What were you guys doing all morning if you haven’t--oh no, don’t tell me. Please don’t tell me--”

“Henry,” Emma laughed as she patted him on the shoulder. “Grow up.”

[X]

Sometimes the greatest love stories ever told don’t start out with a happy beginning. Sometimes those stories begin without warning, without a prelude. By chance.

Sometimes the greatest love stories only really truly begin because of a choice made by someone else, and in Emma and Regina’s case, it was their son and his not-blind date idea he’d sprung on them out of nowhere.

Their beginning had started with a secret, an affair that led to so much more, one that took them far too long to truly admit what they felt and what it was they had together. Their true beginning, however, wasn’t when they started seeing each other nor was it that first date and what followed. Their true beginning started when they said those three little words to one another for the first time.

The true beginning of the greatest love story ever told had only just begun.

And from that very moment on, they were on a new journey.

They were only just beginning to live their happy ending. And there was no doubt that their happy ending wasn’t the final chapter, it was the first in a new book, a new story that would shape the rest of their lives in ways they never imagined it would.

The End


End file.
